Nellisir said:
Also consider, some animals just don't have the temperment for domestication. Why don't Africans ride Zebras? Becuase they are nasty, brutish animals. They account for the most deaths by an animal in a zoo.
Pigs can be domesticated, if raised with you like a pet. Vietnamese Potbelly pigs are very popular as household pets. A pig is very smart and preferes not to wallow in it's own excriment. They prefer to have a designated place as their "bathroom". They do like to wallow in mud, because of the afore mentioned reason, to keep cool. A pig will also always be trying to escape. When they are enclosed by an electric fence they will periodically touch it with their snout to check it and the first time they don't get shocked, they're gone. They are actucally pretty clean animals, it's just most commercial farmers keep them in conditions that are filthy. We raised our pigs on an organic farm back in the late 70's. When treated with dignity and respect they are pretty decent animals to have around. They can be very friendly and we even used to ride them occasionally when the snow was deep. Quite a ride I tell you! When washed and groomed they have a pleasant odor. They will eat anything. And I mean anything. It is a common sight to see pigs without tails, ears and some nasty looking scars. As stated they are not pack animals, but they do have a hierarchy. There's always a Boss Hog and a Grand Momma Sow in a large group. And they continually challenge each other for position.
Pretty much all the problems noted I agree with. Trying to get a pig to go where you want it to when it doesn't want to is difficult at best. We used to use large pieces of plywood and create an open ended pen. So long as you keep the plywood firmly on the ground and let no space open up. The second the pig can push up the bottom of the wall in front of it, just like the electric fence, gone lickity split. And now you've got a big pig running between your legs. That will be a fun ride, sitting backwards on the back of a hysterical pig.
If I were to use this trick as an adventurer, I'd tie a long pole to the pigs back with something delicious hanging on the end and have a long line so I can "steer" the pig by pulling on the pole, angling it left or right.
Oh... and the farmers in southwest Michigan say onry. You have to stretch it out a little though to get it to sound right.
